And
this addiction has made us undergo severe torture. Weve endeavored
heavy rains, scorching sun, and biting cold because
of it. But then, an
addiction is what makes a person defy
limits

As a group of software-engineers-to-be, we
came together during our college
days. Soon enough, our
affinity towards nature and adventure became the driving
force
for the numerous treks we did, and different places we
visited.

Five years down the line, were now
software engineers we wanted to be. The fire
in our hearts
still burns with the same fervor, and it still takes us placesE

Here are a few visuals and narrations of
what we experienced in our treks in the sahyadri ranges like
Dhak Bahiri, Vasota, Harischandra Gad, Daajipur, Rajmaachi
etc.

Hope you enjoy them!

Chakvaa:

Chakvaa is a marathi word that nearly summarizes the way we trekked.
What usually happens in mountain terrain is that there are a number of paths
beaten in mud; some created by man, others by cattle. Over a period of time,
these paths get well established and seem identical to an untrained eye. Local
villagers can still make out the difference. But people like us tend to get
confused,
and often end up following the wrong path.
Local villagers call
such wrong paths E#060;i>chakvaaE

If you are lucky, a chakvaa ends soon enough but if you are among the
not-so-lucky ones, it can go on and on and on.
We are the not-so-lucky
ones.
On various occasions, chakvaas have led us to streams, down
mountains we had already climbed, and even into the heart of the forest!
Hence the name chakvaa.

Quote:

"The first question which you will ask and which I must try to answer is this,
'What is the use of climbing Mountains?' and my answer must at once be, 'It is no use'. There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It's no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for."